Paper Cranes
by Scordatura
Summary: And for just the briefest of moments, the scythe realizes he wants to be as bewildering and foolish as the girl with the paper giraffe.


_A/N: Ever since The Exotic and Unordinary, this pairing has peaked my interest. It's not OTP material (at least, not for myself), but it does have an intriguing cuteness about it that I can't help but explore. I hope you all think so, too.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater._

He folds the napkin diagonally and carefully creases the edge. He regards the single action with consideration, lets a low sigh escape his lips, and continues with his work. Slowly, he makes another fold, pulls one corner towards the other, flips one end, again and again with a particular image in his head.

Upon completing his work, Soul's eyebrows come together in a look of disdain for the crumpled up piece of trash before him. Sure, he may not have mastered the art of the paper crane, but at least he had that whole 'just finished wiping my mouth after lunch' look acquired.

The scythe glances up when his partner begins scolding him to eat his dinner, regardless of the slightly crisp bottom, courtesy of a magical cat and her, 'It cooks faster that way, nya!' Neither Maka nor Soul are really enjoying the meal, which is probably why the scythe has dismissed it in favor of unsuccessful paper cranes.

As he twirls the partially charcoal, yet weirdly undercooked succotash around his plate, the scythe begins to remember the abnormal girl who'd been seated beside him during the Super Written Exam. She'd created a giraffe out of the test pages like it was something she did on a regular basis. Even with what little he knew about her, Soul had a feeling it was probably a hobby of hers.

The weapon feels a brief smile work its way onto his lips as he thinks of Patty's enthusiasm. In a world like their own, she doesn't even bat an eye at soul consuming demons or crazy professors and their cruel tests. She arms herself with devil-may-care grins and high pitched giggling which allows her to manage just fine.

And what does he have?

Quietly, the scythe excuses himself and heads into the kitchen, plate of mush in hand which he scrapes into the trash. He can hear Maka scolding Blair in the other room, explaining the ways of cooking or some such. Hell, Soul can make a better casserole than Blair, if that had even been her goal.

The weapon shuffles down the hall and into his room, gently closing the door behind him and gazing around at his collection of posters. Most of them are music, the kind for which his family never held much appreciation. As soon as he'd moved into the small apartment with Maka, those had been the first thing to decorate the walls. Any change from his old life was desired, and he did his best to become the smudge in the otherwise pristine portrait that was his family.

Patty is different in that regard, Soul thinks to himself. Did she ever have to worry about what her parents thought of her? No, he's pretty sure she didn't. Of course, she didn't have the picture perfect family, only her older sister. The two of them had been hellions right from the get go, and Soul wonders what that's like. How does it feel to not have any obligations from the very beginning, to treat everything like a joke with the constant belief that everything will be okay? What's it like to be the hyperactive enigma that can make people smile when they know it is an attitude that won't change?

And for just the briefest of moments, the scythe realizes he wants to be as bewildering and foolish as the girl with the paper giraffe.

—-/—-\—-|—-/—-\—-

School is the same as ever, filled with chattering students and scalpel-wielding professors, but there Patty sits, humming to a tune in her head while doodling in a coloring book. Where had she even gotten it? Did she bring it from home? Maybe she borrowed it from Fire or Thunder?

Soul watches the girl, eyebrows scrunched together in fascination. He's probably putting too much thought into this, and it isn't until Maka gives him a swipe on his arm that he realizes she's been trying to get his attention for the past ten seconds or so.

"I'm staying at the library after school, so dinner's up to you tonight, okay?" his meister repeats for the third time, trying to get some acknowledgement from her confused partner. "Don't let Blair anywhere near the stove. Don't even let her in the kitchen."

"Uh… yeah." Soul nods once, turning his attention back to the giggling blonde a few rows down. "Yeah, whatever you want."

Maka frowns at the distraction in her weapon's voice, but she shrugs it off and continues listening to Stein's lecture on kidney diseases.

When class has finished, Soul makes his way down the steps while pondering what might be good for dinner. He isn't sure what ingredients are at home, so he's unsure if they have the right stuff for curry. He should really go to the market to be safe, but he doesn't want to make the extra trip.

He's thinking so deeply, he doesn't notice Patty has cut in front of him, all curious eyes and smug grin. When she raises a hand to flick his nose, he jerks back in surprise. This urges a laugh out of the younger demon pistol who claps her hands in delight.

"What'cha thinking about?" she inquires, rocking her head from side to side. "Have you ever wondered why men tilt their hats to ladies on the street? Is that hat really important? Why not hop on one foot or pat the chin?"

Soul blinks in confusion, shakes himself, and responds, "I haven't given it much thought. It's a sign of greeting, sure, and when you raise your hat, it's a way to make yourself lower than the one you're talking to. It's more polite, I guess."

Patty frowned in consideration before mumbling, "But what if you're already shorter than the person? Then you just get even shorter when you raise your hat, silly."

Soul feels a brief smile and raises his shoulders in resignation. "That's all I know. I suppose making yourself even shorter is also respectful."

The two file out of the classroom and into the hall, Soul continuing towards the lockers while making a quick grocery list in his head. They need carrots again, he remembers that much. The charred circles in last night's 'dinner' that looked like they'd been chopped from table legs had been the last of the orange vegetable.

"Onions, too," Soul murmurs, closing his locker door and jolting in alarm when he sees Patty has followed him.

"They lift their hats to be polite?" Patty muses before breaking out in hysterical giggling. "How do you do, Monsieur Onion?"

"Huh?" The scythe tries to hide his discomfort at the girl's wild laughter as a few students in the hallway are beginning to stare. Clearing his throat, the white-haired boy throws his bag over one shoulder and turns to make his leave after a quick nod of goodbye to Patty.

"And where are you off to, Mr. Scythe?" pipes up the innocent query from behind.

"I have to head to the market," Soul responds, not surprised when Patty trails after him like a bewildered duckling. "We're out of ingredients for dinner, and it's my job to get some."

Patty bobs her head to either side in understanding before murmuring, "I think I'll get dinner, too."

"Yeah?" Soul asks, grinning in agreement. "Is Kid a good cook?"

—-/—-\—-|—-/—-\—-

Even if Kid is a good cook, it certainly isn't what Patty meant by 'getting dinner.' As Soul browses the numerous produce stands on _Van Tassel Lane_ , he can't help but wonder how he's been roped into cooking for an extra stomach. It appears Patty plans to eat with Maka, Blair, and himself, regardless of Soul's suggestions about her wanting to go home. She dismisses each one with a smirk or the occasional tongue lolling out between her lips.

Soul pays for the bags of food and returns to where he's parked his motorcycle on the street corner, gazing despondently at the vehicle and its limited amount of room. The ride to the market hadn't been too bad (after he'd realized Patty meant to join him and all that) but having groceries made things precarious.

"What's the plan, Soul-Jam?" Patty asks, twirling in front of him with a bag of onions, garlic, and potatoes. "We can fit on this bike. It's like Jenga. Balance everything right, and it'll be perfect. Kid will be proud!"

Maybe Kid would've been proud as they do make it home in one piece, losing only a single, precious potato along the way, but Blair is certainly confused when Patty follows Soul into the apartment. However, the magical cat shrugs and says she's fine cooking extra. Soul is quick to interject before Blair can commandeer the kitchen, explaining it's totally fine that he cooks and Blair can take a nap on the couch or something harmless like that. He receives a flirtatious grin in return, followed by an affectionate pat on the cheek before Blair leaves him to his work.

To his surprise, Patty's eccentric attitude does not make her a difficult companion while cooking. In fact, the sudden change in attitude is a little mind boggling, and the scythe can't help but stare as the blonde solemnly chops carrots. It is for this reason he burns himself frying onions, but he waves off Patty's concern, and scolds himself to pay closer attention to his own job.

With the helping hand, dinner is done at an earlier time than usual, and by the time Maka gets home, everything is laid out on the table, extra bowl and all. The scythe meister questions Patty's presence in the apartment, to which Soul responds she'd been following him around and even helped make the curry. Although a somewhat vague answer, Maka doesn't argue and sits down to eat with the two weapons and humming cat.

Patty comments on the curry being 'super yummy' while filling her bowl with a second serving. Soul thanks her for the compliment, as well as the assistance, which raises a giggle from the girl. The rest of dinner is spent exchanging small talk about school, plus one fun fact from Patty about kangaroos. Soul is pretty sure the amount of room a joey has in a mother's pouch isn't based on the economy in Scotland, but he does chuckle to himself.

 _Where does she come up with these things?_ He wonders, pushing around a lump of rice in his bowl. _What connects in her brain to talk about Scotland and kangaroos or to make giraffes out of exam papers? What is it like to think so freely?_

After Patty helps with the dishes, Soul assumes she plans to leave, but he doesn't question her sitting down on the couch with him when he chooses to focus on homework.

"Now what?" the Thompson sister asks, blue eyes blinking curiously. "Oh, you have schoolwork? Kid always does his in his room. Sometimes he helps Big Sis and me, depending on the subject. Big Sis isn't really good at calculating numbers, but gambling isn't real difficult for her."

Soul's eyebrows rise in response to the baffling info, though he supposes it shouldn't be news to him. The girl had grown up on the streets after all, so gambling was bound to be a small hobby or something. Both sisters seem to have a unique set of skills; it almost makes him question his rather plain task of playing the piano.

"Hey, Patty." The scythe sets down his pencil and turns to the blonde, tapping a finger nervously. "Can you…Well, do you remember the giraffe you made awhile back during our big exam? You broke—"

"Totally annihilated him!" Patty exclaims, pumping a fist in the air. "I remember!"

Soul's upper lip twitches, but he nods hesitantly. "Anyway, it was pretty good, so I thought… I dunno. I've never done anything like that, so… It'd be cool, I guess."

Patty has a napkin in her fingers before he can finish his awkward muttering, though he isn't sure if she got the hint or is simply bored. Whichever it is, the scythe watches, intrigued, as the girl makes a crease in the flimsy material and folds one end over the other. With a surprising level of care, Patty perfects every corner and keeps every line completely straight. Soul almost wonders if life with Kid is to blame for her attention to detail, or maybe even the origami creations in general.

He isn't sure what the girl is attempting to make, but he carefully tears out a blank page from his notebook and offers it to her. Wordlessly, it is accepted, and Patty begins her work of art over, grateful for the option of making something larger.

Fold, crease, flip, fold, fold, wrinkle, repeat. Without a sound, Patty scrutinizes every move of her slender fingers over the paper.

 _What is it going to be?_ Soul briefly wonders, head tilted to the side as he studies the careful movements. A miniature giraffe? The simple paper crane? Maybe a butterfly?

The scythe almost hopes it won't be any of these things. The thought of a paper crane is simply too normal. He's keen on seeing a dragon take shape or maybe even a mermaid. Something bizarre, that's what he's anticipating. It is he who should work on paper cranes. After all, he's the one with the guidelines in his head. He grew up with the rules, with sophistication all around and the 'you shouldn't do such things. It will look bad for the family.'

The scythe almost snorts, but he presses the noise against the back of his throat. What would his family think if he'd spent all his time making paper creations? If he'd shown interest in such a seemingly dull task, how fast would the sheet music have replaced it? How quickly would he have been pushed towards the piano and something worthwhile?

What would they even think of her?

Soul discards the useless thought and shrugs his shoulders, attempting to work a knot out. What difference does it make what his parents think? They aren't there to judge or to plot out every second of his future. They don't have any ties to him, yet they still manage to find ways into his head to brand some guilt into it. It's like his old life still holds the restraints over him, allowing little room to do something insane.

Red eyes move across Patty, curious and lost in thought. How does she do it? How can she play life like a game and completely neglect the rules? What makes her oblivious to everyone around her? No, not oblivious… She simply doesn't care. The opinions of everyone else don't matter to her, and she doesn't have any restraints. She only has Kid's sophistication, something she respects but never imitates. She doesn't care about things that might make the family look bad because both she and her sister have already looked bad, and they'd spit on anyone who'd openly stated it.

She has an entire ballroom to carry out every insane dance there is.

"How do you do it?"

Patty turns to him, puzzled at first before her mouth breaks into a grin. "I'm showing you, silly!"

It dawns on him that he's stated the inquiry out loud, but Patty is giggling at his confusion. The laugh is wild and carefree as she continues with the origami on her lap, one fold after the other.

Perhaps he's going a little crazy, but the paper creature is beginning to look like him.

"Yeah." Soul smiles. "I guess you are."

-/-\\-|-/-\\-

 _A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that. I had a lot of fun writing it, and it's nice to throw out random one shots in between A Couple Hundred Years and Demons in this Mirror. If you liked it, let me know and feel free to check out my other stories!_


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